Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Challenge 32

I had a great time visiting with the newest edition to our family (well.. MaggieKat's bio family and my family of choice) - KiSSy is a beautiful little angel and she's going to be so much fun to watch grow!  And, of course, my own precious Bug was in rare form - at 15 months he's discovering and learning so much.  Seeing KiSSy made me miss him as a baby but this stage is fun and funny.  Maggie and I have some pretty incredible daughters! And our sons aren't bad either!

So - on to tangling...

Carole Ohl from OpenSeed has provided the guest challenge this week.  Using any string we like, we are to use only Pais, Baton, Zedbra, and Keenies to create a tangle. I like all of these tangle patterns, so this was fun.  An added bonus is that we can mail the finished product to her to be included in an art show.

If I do decide to send one, which one should I send?

 


Thanks for the challenge, Carole!  (and to you, too, Diva, for creating this space!)

Monday, July 25, 2011

Conflicted, Cynical, and Completely

over it.  The  economy slugfest, I mean.  I don't want to see services and programs that I feel are important - especially for the people I serve - cut to shreds.  I don't want Medicare to be reduced.  The elderly and indigent will be the most effected by the cuts.  I don't want taxes raised, either, because we all know that the big boys will pass their pain right on down to us serfs.  We are thirled, friends.  We have a metal band around out necks and we will never be free as long as there are those in power who can hold a budget and an economy hostage, all the while spinning it to look like one man - one lone man - is solely responsible for the cesspool in which we are swimming.  I not-so-jokingly said that I'm looking at real estate in New Zealand.  I don't want to be driving out of my country.  But how long will it take for people to wake up and stop drinking the koolaid?  They seem to think that because someone has money and gets elected to one of the highest offices in the nation that somehow that elected official actually cares about the "little guy."  They sit at the feet of the exalted like some puppy waiting for the master to drop a morsel.  They keep coming back for more even though that same master beats them, neglects them, and, generally, doesn't even like them!  One of the saddest things to me is that the older folks who align with the Republicans' POV are scared so they align themselves with the ones who say all the right things.  Just like the German people who bought into Hitler's BS.  Just like those who followed Jim Jones to the island of oblivion.  Blind obedience, blind trust.

Is the President's plan perfect?  No. There is no such thing anymore.  Is it painful?  Of course.  You play, you pay.  But is it doable?  I don't know... but those who do know are so scared he's right that they will do anything - including destroying our economy - to avoid admitting he has something valuable to offer.

Sorry for all of  the negativity.  I'm going to leave now and tangle for awhile and try to find my Qi again.  I am going to read some ACIM, Marianne Williamson, and Louise Hay.  I'm going to find that spark of inner peace that lets me go to work tomorrow and try to help my clients find hope to change their lives for the better and try to believe it myself.

I am going to pray for my President and for all of the elected officials.  I am going to visualize them coming to the table with one goal in mind - finding a SOLUTION that may compromise some party rhetoric but that provides the best options for those of us who elected them.

Tomorrow - I'll post the fruits of my tangling.  For now -- it's watching escapist TV.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Ruby Toosday
This is Ruby.  She has been my steady and reliable ride for 7 1/2 years.  Today we said good-bye.  Even though it was the right thing to do, I am (possibly irrationally) very sad.  How on earth does one get so emotionally attached to a car??? I don't know but I did... I was... I am.  I think she was the first car that I ever bought just because I really wanted her.  We would see her sitting on the lot every day as we drove to and from work and school.  I must have audibly sighed every time we passed because one day my daughter said, "mom - why don't you just stop and take her for a test drive?"  So I pulled onto the lot, took her for a spin, and left with a new (to me) car.  The best impulse buy I've ever made.

I remember our first trip up into the mountains.  This car was built for mountain driving.  She's a rally car so she loves sharp curves and hills and valleys.  I took her over the Sierras from Modesto, CA to Gardnerville, NV with the stereo blaring out my favorite Eagles and Fleetwood Mac tunes.  Perfect freedom.  She fit right in in Beverly Hills that time I took my son to check out his new college. She was a trooper trekking across the country with a daughter, a dog, and most of our worldly possessions loaded in her cargo space.    And then there was a more recent mountain drive - different coast - when I not only got lost but was running out of gas and (as I discovered almost too late) was completely out of oil!  That was an adventure I never want to repeat!  Still, she didn't let me down then either.

So why have I given her up?  Well... it was time.  The fact is, my old body has been making driving a stick shift very difficult lately.  And then my daughter, who has a baby and a job and a host of other just-getting-started-in-life worries was complaining about needing a car with better fuel economy so that she didn't spend all of her tips each week on gas.  I do believe in divine right timing and synchronicity.  Within a couple of days of our conversation, a new listing for the exact car my daughter had mentioned as her ideal popped up on a Google search. It met all of the criteria, was close by, and was in even in her price range. So after a few emails to the dealer, I made the decision to trade Ruby for the new (to her) car and I would take the gas hog she's been driving.

I do not regret the decision.  It was the right thing to do.  I'm just sad.

I loved Ruby very  much, but she was also starting to show her age. It was only a matter of time before she wouldn't be able to go like she has been.  And we all know that as we get older, the replacement parts get really expensive!  I just pray that whoever owns her next will love her as much as I have.

Ruby handing over the reins to her replacement.
Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday.  
Who can hang a name on you? 
When you change with every new day.  
Still I'm gonna miss you...

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Welcome to the world, baby girl!

My most heartfelt congratulations to my best friend, Maggiekat and her family, on the birth of her new granddaughter, Kaelynn (or KiSSy).  She was born this evening at 8:53pm EDT.  Mother (Kasey) and baby are doing fine.  When I got the official word that baby girl had entered the world I had to tangle!  I can't wait to meet KiSSy this weekend.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Challenge #31 Fairyland


A very fun challenge this week.  Fairies live among us and are always watching.  At least that's the theme of my first tile.  I attempted to "channel" what fairies might like in their home... flowers, swirls, flowery vines, a little net (to catch them when they are flying too fast or too close to the ground), and snuggly pods in which to sleep. A dark little cave where they sparkle and shine in the dark (we just think they are fireflies!).


The second tile just feels airy.  A little finery, a few aha moments, some printemps, purk, and misty polkleaf  - all watched over by the beautiful Bellaposa.

Enjoy playing in your own fairyland this week. I'll be spending some time in my manifestation garden.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Imperfect, Part Deux

So I really need to remember to spell/grammar check before I post.  :-)  Please forgive the typos in the last post.

Before the new challenge is revealed...

It's been an interesting weekend.  I now know what "bored to tears" means.  It's been such a busy summer so far that when I found myself with nothing (that I wanted) to do after I submitted my dissertation topic for review on Saturday morning that I literally cried while watching a Hallmark Channel movie - and, trust me, the movie wasn't good enough to warrant tears!  So - I decided to tangle.  "Why didn't you think of that earlier," I hear you asking?  Ok... so it was a V8 moment, for sure.  I had been thinking about what it is that I really want to manifest in my life.  I am a firm believer of "be careful what you ask for" - been there, done that, have few scars to prove it!  So I sat down and wrote out some notes, placed them on my sketchbook and loosely traced around the notes.  I then created a string connecting all of my "non-negotiables" and the following is a draft of what will eventually become a larger piece.  The finished piece will use the official Zentangle tiles in place of the post-it notes for larger open spaces to representations of my dreams/desires/needs.  You'll see they are not listed on the draft piece... I'm leaving my options open for awhile.


Feeling less "needy" and more centered, I decided to tackle a "tile noir" - I really need to get over my fear of making a mistake... very little in life is truly perfect.  It's that erroneous notion that anything we do as humans could ever reach perfection that fuels the pharmaceutical industry (and keeps me in busy during the week).    Assuming that others are scrutinizing and judging everything about us - our size, our clothes, our hair cut/color, our messy house, our wayward (read: perfectly normal) children - keeps us in a state of constant panic and self-doubt.  Most of the time I am quite capable and successful at letting that stuff go, but when it comes to committing words or lines to paper I feel that old self-judging worry monster crawl up onto my shoulder and whisper negative words of discouragement in my ear.  Anyway - last night I flicked the little bugger off my shoulder, grabbed my first black tile and white jelly roll pen and just drew.


I'm a fan.  It was fun and I am sure I will like my future attempts much better.  But for now, in all of it's imperfection, I kind of like my "dark side."

All in all the weekend has not been as bad as I feared.  I had a nice lunch with friends, took a great nap, and then baked homemade whole wheat and flax crackers just because I had all of the ingredients.  The cooler temps from the weekend will give way to more high heat and humidity as thee coming week progresses and I am sure there will be a few more challenges.  But I am looking forward to seeing where my manifesting takes me and waiting for news of the birth of a new baby girl in my family.  Oh, and what new challenge Diva sends our way.

Shalom!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

String Theories (Challenges 29 and 30)

So... I am behind in posting my offerings for the past two weeks' challenges. I wish I could say it's because I've been diligently working on my dissertation but that would be a big, fat fabrication! I really have to buckle down and start working on that. For now, while I wait for inspiration, motivation, mojo, or kick in the pants I will keep tangling!

The first tangle is my take on challenge #30 for which we were asked to use our first and last initials in block or script. Since my first and last are the same, I decided to use one block and one script. I kind of like what I ended up with:


The next are my offerings for challenge #29 which used a real string (or my interpretation of a string) that was weighted. For my weights I used two of my favorite objects: a sodalite pendulum and a double butterfly pendant.

Here's what I ended up with for #29. The first two used the pendulum and the last one used the butterfly/heart necklace:


My next adventure will be using the black tiles! I'm a little intimidated...

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

I'm behind

So what else is new?? Between starting a new quarter in my school process (it's dissertation time!) and returning to work after 10 days off, I have fallen behind on posting my weekly Zentangle challenges. I've done #29 but haven't posted it yet. I have added a direct link through the gadget-thingy on the left to the weekly challenges in case you want to play, too.

I'll be back... but for now I really need to get dressed for work.